ZipRecruiter: HR Must Address the AI Training Divide in 2026

Are your entry-level jobs being filled by applicants who are overqualified? 

More than half (51%) of recent graduates have admitted to using their current job as a “stepping stone,” with 20% believing they are overqualified for the role.

This data comes from ZipRecruiter’s new “Building a New Path” report, which surveyed 1,500 recent graduates and 1,500 rising graduates in the US. 

Recent graduates, therefore, feel they are “settling” for jobs, particularly as competition across the market is increasing and with entry-level applicants finding fewer available roles.

Finding a path into the workplace

Nearly one in five graduates has shared that they are in “bridge jobs,” which are described as being roles they accepted to cover their expenses, while seeking other opportunities. 

What’s more, 18% of respondents say they intentionally applied for a job that they believe is below their level as a way of entering the job market. 

The report also shared that just over one quarter (26%) of recent graduates are confident that they were on their “ideal career path".

“The old model was: graduate, find an entry-level job climb from there,” Nicole Bachaud, Labour Economist at ZipRecruiter, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing now is something less linear, yet their outcomes are actually improving. 

“Grads are piecing together experience through internships, side work, stepping-stone roles, and even starting their own ventures. With fewer entry-level roles available, their path looks different, but many are finding their way.”

With that being said, ZipRecruiter found that 77% of graduates found a role within three months of graduating. Although this marks a 14-percentage-point increase from the previous year, ZipRecruiter suggests that this is because graduates have increased their flexibility in order to gain a foothold in the workplace.

How does AI impact entry-level roles?

To fully understand this, it’s important that HR leaders are able to assess the impact of AI.

Almost half (47%) of individuals surveyed reported that AI has an impact on hiring in their sector, with the following 50% predicting that the technology will reduce entry-level jobs. 

Even though AI is becoming increasingly integrated into the workplace, only 29% of rising grads and 23% of recent grads shared that they received AI training for professional use from their educators.

The report also highlighted an important gender gap in both financial compensation and technological readiness for recent graduates. 

Women entered the workforce with a median starting salary of US$48,000, which amounts to just 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, who started at $60,000. 

This inequity is mirrored in the classroom, where only 19% of women reported AI integration in their curriculum compared to 29% of men.

Furthermore, the quality of this education was shown to differ significantly, with roughly 14% of female graduates sharing their schools focused exclusively on the risks of AI rather than its professional utility. Only 6% of their male peers agreed.

Men were also found to be “more likely to learn how to apply AI professionally,” while the report stated that women “are more likely to learn only why to be cautious about it".

As a result, women are less likely to be prepared to use AI in the workforce.